If there’s a better barometer for what’s going on in Mainstream America than Sean “Hollywood” Hamilton’s nationally syndicated Weekend Top 30 Countdown, we can’t think of it, which is why Hamilton’s newest venture, the Weekend Remix Countdown, gave us good reason to ask Hamilton why dance mixes, and why now…

“It’s simple,” says Hamilton. “While Weekend Top 30 has been incredibly successful for the last eleven years it hasn’t given me the chance to show my love for house music. And there’s lots of great House happening right now. So I thought I’d come up with some hot house/dance mixes of all the pop hits out there and make that into a top thirty. And that’s just what we’ve done: Weekend Remix Countdown features thirty of the biggest pop hits in America, remixed by four of the biggest DJs in the country.”

With New York’s legendary WKTU serving as the Saturday night flagship station (big props to KTU’s Rob Miller for his unflagging support of Dance music!), and new markets opening up all across America, it would appear that all the pieces are in place for another Hamilton countdown success.

But wait, says Hamilton, there’s more; and he’s letting us have it countdown style…

#10: Triple A in-studio celebrity interviews

#9: Special features that include contests, requests and other audience interaction

#8: Cutting-edge music and artist info

#7: Previews of up-and-coming Mainstream Club & Dance Radio releases

#6: Always up-to-the minute remixes -- recorded live

#5: The chance to listen and learn from the top DJs in the country

#4: Backstage concert interviews conducted by real DJs from cities all across the USA

#3: Sound byes every third song from the hottest artists in the business

#2: Your chance – as a Promo Only subscriber – to fly to NYC to be a guest DJ on
Remix Countdown!*

#1: The best damn Dance remixes in the biz

“It’s a passion project,” concedes Hamilton. “I love Dance music.”

Word.

We invite you to show your love and your support for Dance music by tuning in to Weekend Remix Countdown and by checking out the exclusive Dance content found on our Club and Dance Radio series.

You had to figure that when über software producers Ableton and Serato – arguably two of the biggest names in performance software – announced their partnership back in 2008 something big was in the works.

It was. It’s called The Bridge. And it’s so good you’ll be tempted to keep it to yourself.

The Bridge spans the gap between music production and live DJing by creating a seamless link between Ableton Live and Serato Scratch Live or ITCH that provides a powerful fusion of DJing, remixing and live performance.

You can cross The Bridge in either direction:

Ableton to Serato
The Bridge provides Ableton Transport Control (ATC), giving you turntable-style control of your own multitrack productions. Simply drag an Ableton Live Set to a deck in Scratch Live or ITCH and use your turntables, CDJ or ITCH controller to control the transport. MORE

Serato to Ableton
The Bridge provides the ultimate mixtape creation tool. You can perform mixes in Serato Scratch Live or ITCH and save them as an Ableton Live Set, with all of Ableton’s detailed editing options at your command. MORE

Want to know how to make a serious name for yourself? Ask up-and-coming DJ Evan Gamble Lewis and he’ll tell you creating your own tracks is key…

“I used to have a lot more gigs before I started writing, but that was only because I had more time,” says Lewis. “But once I started writing music, creating my own tracks from the ground up, I didn’t have to chase shows anymore.”

Evan’s passion for music has deep roots: his mother is an accomplished blues singer/guitarist who surrounded him at a young age with musicians, instruments, and recording studios. At the age of seven, Lewis was playing guitar and experimenting with synthesizer sequencing. By the age of twenty-one Lewis’ accomplishments had landed him MTV interviews, horror/snowboarding movie scores, and a nine-month European tour headlining over 50 massive techno, trance, and breakbeat parties in mega clubs such as Kanty, Poland's 1 techno club, Sfinks, Planeta, Klimate, and more. These days it’s Lewis’ production chops that keep him in high demand with producers, artists, and promoters. To date, Evan has released over 20 tracks in the past two years, working with such legends as Omar Santana, Superstar DJ Keoki, Decoding Jesus, Sonic Trip, and Rabbit in the Moon.

“It’s all about building your network,” suggests Lewis. “I’m working now with about five different records labels – we’re all friends, really. We all help each other out building our own thing.”

Evan is currently signed with Bombeatz Music. His mixes are available on Beatport.com, ConnectBeats.net and anywhere great music is distributed for free.

“At first I wasn’t s too sure – I was nervous,” concludes Lewis. “But there are so many people who are going to pirate your product anyway. So I thought why not just give a ton of it out. And I definitely see a lot more people showing up at shows.”

The concept for the Otus RAW is simple: take feedback from the world’s most well-respected DJs and incorporate it into the design of a new controller. Music gear manufacturer EKS has done just that with RAW, offering a controller with a signature sexy look and some features that are going to come as a welcome surprise to vinyl-leaning DJs…

The Otus RAW can be used either as single or double deck setup, each offering a SL-turntable-style pitch slider, rather than the more common and less satisfying touch-sensitive strips found on most of today’s controllers. Other notable features include a layer switch for "virtually unlimited" possibilities (EKS is billing RAW as “endlessly configurable”), a wide range of assignable rotary knobs for functions like EQ and effect modulation, and four touch-sensitive velocity pads that can be assigned to trigger samples or act as a virtual drum kit.

While not yet available for a bench test, we’ve got a hunch that one of these bad boys will make slicing and dicing beats mindlessly easy.

Unfortunately, the Otus RAW won’t be available until this spring; pricing is yet to be announced.

You gotta know when to hold ‘em…
Join us February 10, 2010 for the 4th Annual DiscJockeys.com/Promo Only
Las Vegas Poker Tournament
At stake: The chance to throw down with over a hundred DJs and industry professionals in a series of Texas Hold ‘Em rounds designed to reward the best card jockey in town with cash prizes and assorted DJ loot.

Play your cards right and you’ll sit down to the table for free* and walk away with a bonanza of business opportunities, courtesy of the event’s co-hosts, DiscJockey.com and Promo Only.

“We create opportunity,” says Andrew Starr, owner and founder of DiscJockeys.com. “Our worldwide database of entertainment services is designed to help those looking for a DJ to easily find your website.”

Need help with that website?

“Those who opt for our enhanced listings receive invaluable tips on how to harness search engine optimization, as well as how to maximize the exposure we provide, globally and locally. We give our clients an education that pays for itself with their first booking.”

Of course, with all those extra bookings, you’re going to need extra content, which is where we come in…

In addition to the cash prizes awarded the evening’s winners, Promo Only will be throwing the following prizes into the pot…

*For info on how your membership with DiscJockey.com can earn you a free seat at the MBLV poker tourney table visit
www.discjockeys.com

* IMPORTANT NOTE:CASH prizes (amounts) are subject to change and solely the responsibility of the Riviera Casino. Prize pool is based off 100 players and estimated by the Riviera Casino Poker room manager.

MapQuest really needs to start their directions on #5. Pretty sure I know how to get out of my neighborhood.

I wish Google Maps had an "Avoid Ghetto" routing option.

More often than not, when someone is telling me a story all I can think about is that I can't wait for them to finish so that I can tell my own story that's not only better, but also more directly involves me.

Nothing sucks more than that moment during an argument when you realize you're wrong.

That's enough, Nickelback.

I totally take back all those times I didn't want to nap when I was younger.

Is it just me, or are 80% of the people in the "people you may know"
feature on Facebook people that I do know, but I deliberately choose
not to be friends with?

How the hell are you supposed to fold a fitted sheet?

I would rather try to carry 10 plastic grocery bags in each hand than
take 2 trips to bring my groceries in.

I think part of a best friend's job should be to immediately clear
your computer history if you die.

The only time I look forward to a red light is when I’m trying to finish a text.

A recent study has shown that playing beer pong contributes to the spread of mono and the flu. Yeah, if you suck at it.

I have a hard time deciphering the fine line between boredom and hunger.

Answering the same letter three times or more in a row on a Scantron test is absolutely petrifying.

Whenever someone says "I'm not book smart, but I'm street smart", all I hear is "I'm not real smart, but I'm imaginary smart"

How many times is it appropriate to say "What?" before you just nod and smile because you still didn't hear what they said?

I love the sense of camaraderie when an entire line of cars teams up to prevent a poo-poo-head from cutting in at the front. Stay strong, brothers!

What would happen if I hired two private investigators to follow each other?

While driving yesterday I saw a banana peel in the road and instinctively swerved to avoid it...thanks Mario Kart.

Obituaries would be a lot more interesting if they told you how the person died.

Shirts get dirty. Underwear gets dirty. Pants? Pants never get dirty, and you can wear them forever.

I would like to officially coin the phrase 'catching the swine flu'
to be used as a way to make fun of a friend for hooking up with an
overweight woman. Example: "Nick caught the swine flu last night."

I can't remember the last time I wasn't at least kind of tired.

Bad decisions make great stories.

Why is it that during an ice-breaker, when the whole room has to go
around and say their name and where they are from, I get so incredibly
nervous? Like I know my name, I know where I'm from, this shouldn't be
a problem....

Can we all just agree to ignore whatever comes after DVDs? I don't
want to have to restart my collection.

There's no worse feeling than that millisecond you're sure you are
going to die after leaning your chair back a little too far.

"Do not machine wash or tumble dry" means I will never wash this ever.

I hate when I just miss a call by the last ring (Hello? Hello?
Dammit!), but when I immediately call back, it rings nine times and
goes to voicemail. What'd you do after I didn't answer? Drop the phone
and run away?

I hate leaving my house confident and looking good and then not
seeing anyone of importance the entire day. What a waste.

I like all of the music in my iTunes, except when it's on shuffle,
then I like about one in every fifteen songs in my iTunes.

It should probably be called Unplanned Parenthood.

I keep some people's phone numbers in my phone just so I know not to
answer when they call.

I wonder if cops ever get pissed off at the fact that everyone they
drive behind obeys the speed limit.

I disagree with Kay Jewelers. I would bet on any given Friday or
Saturday night more kisses begin with Miller Lites than Kay.

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